Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Has $4.16 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,516.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,446 shares during the quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $1,370,455,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $992,026,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $770,673,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Benchmark boosted their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

Booking Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $226.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.